By Tom Zampieri
Winter Rush
The BVA legislative agenda has been extremely full for both national officers and headquarters staff. In the middle of January, we began preparing for our annual testimony, which this year occurred twice. Tom Miller presented our legislative priorities before the House Veterans Affairs Committee on February 15 while Larry Belote was in town to make the presentation before the Senate Committee on March 9.
Several budget and appropriations hearings also occurred in February. Preparing for these hearings was tedious as the issues and proposed legislation often changed from day to day. In the midst of the rush, we had limited time to review the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) budget submission for FY 2007. This document was not released to Congress until February 6.
During this same time period, the House and Senate held a number of hearings on issues of concern to us and other Veterans Service Organizations with whom we cooperatively work to improve VA health care services and benefits.
Mixed Results for VIAB Proposal
More than one year ago, the Visual Impairment Advisory Board (VIAB), of which BVA is a representative member, presented a proposal to the VA Health Services Committee of the National Leadership Board (NLB). The proposal directed all Veterans Integrated Service Networks (VISNs) to implement a full continuum of care for visually impaired and blind veterans. The Committee received the proposal very positively and issued a report in November 2005 entitled “Financial Projections for the Expansion of Low Vision Services in VA’s Continuum of Care.” The conclusions were based largely on a VA gap analysis study.
BVA is very pleased to announce that the VA Health Services Committee unanimously endorsed the full recommendations of VIAB, including the gap analysis and cost estimates. The recommendation for the full continuum of vision rehabilitation services has now been referred to the Finance Committee of the NLB to identify funding to implement the proposal.
BVA fully supports the proposal’s broad scope and requested that the nearly $14 million necessary for the full continuum of blind services be included in the VA budget for FY 2007. Imagine our disappointment in early February when we discovered only $5.4 million in the VA request for FY 2007, which would not allow for expansion of any new programs for the blind and visually impaired.
Even more recently, we have also discovered that high-ranking officials at VA headquarters supported the previously proposed expansion of more outpatient blind rehabilitation programs and services. Nevertheless, these same individuals do not have at their disposal the necessary funding in the current FY 2006 or proposed FY 2007 appropriations to enact these vital programs for blinded veterans.
For more than a month now, BVA has worked extensively with members of Congress on House and Senate Committees that include Appropriations, Budget, Veterans Affairs, and Armed Services. We have attempted to educate them on the importance of including, in the FY 2007 budget, the $14 million in additional appropriations for these important services. The next three weeks of this session of Congress are critical to the securing of the appropriations. We are doing everything possible on our end to ensure a positive result.
|
